MARSEILLES, France — Fires whipped by high winds ravaged swaths of southern France and Portugal on Wednesday, killing at least four people, burning scores of homes and forcing the evacuation of thousands, including tourists.
In France, multiple fires formed a column marching toward the Mediterranean port city of Marseille. Hundreds of miles away, a fire swept overnight into Funchal, the capital of Portugal’s Madeira Islands, killing three elderly people and leaving more than 300 with minor burns and smoke inhalation. A forest watchman was killed on the mainland during the night when one of more than 100 blazes engulfed the caravan he was sleeping in 95 miles north of Lisbon.
Two people were reported injured, one seriously, as the fire in southern France moved toward Marseille, firefighters said, and 20 to 25 homes were burned. At least 6,670 acres were devastated. Four firefighters were injured, three seriously, battling a separate blaze in the nearby Herault region — brought under control as was a fire in an industrial area outside Marseille that stocks oil and petrochemicals.
The Marseille airport rerouted incoming flights to clear the path for firefighting aircraft, while officials in France’s second largest city were bracing for flames that risked lapping at its doors. Thick layers of ochre-colored smoke dimmed the afternoon skies of sun-drenched Marseille, while black plumes rose above Vitrolles and Pennes-Mirabeau.
Firefighters in both countries battled multiple blazes fanned by high winds and fed by brush in a hot, dry summer, considered fire season in both countries. A full 186 wildfires were counted Wednesday on Portugal’s mainland.
The blazes were exceptionally powerful in both countries, roaring through Madeira and southern France at the height of the tourist season — a mainstay of the economy of Madeira islands, off northwest Africa.
Portugal’s National Civil Protection Service reported 14 major wildfires burning out of control in mainland Portugal. About 4,500 firefighters were part of a massive operation there, supported by 28 water-dumping aircraft and 1,300 vehicles.
